Maxx Mazda's 2011 Build Thread

[719prottege]

i like the intercooler setup is, thats exactly how i did mine. fills the bumper well, and its closer up front, looks good.

 

[Tzar177]

Where do you get the gtx 4th gear?

 

[Maxx Mazda]

Where do you get the gtx 4th gear?

I ordered it from Mazda before it was discontinued. Got the last gearset in north america from the California warehouse.

 

[Maxx Mazda]

Sorry its been awhile since the last update guys, I've had a LOT going on outside the garage. Still waiting on some of the more "major" parts before the build can REALLY get moving, but I made some progress on the block today.

Took it out, degreased, scrubbed, and rinsed it really well. Blew the entire block dry with compressed air, and smeared all the vital areas with a thin coat of oil to keep the rust away for now.

Prepped and masked the block, and sprayed it silver this time around. Used DupliColor Engine Enamel, 3 coats of silver, 2 coats of clear. Added a few detail touches like the "FS" lettering. I think it turned out pretty good.

The holes I didn't mask were all chased with the proper sized metric tap to make sure they are down to bare metal and the bolts can be installed freely.

 

[Maxx Mazda]

I'm still debating what clutch to get. SPEC is out of the question, I had their "top of the line" clutch, and it couldn't stand up to the abuse of an anti-lag assisted 2nd gear launch without slipping. I refuse to run an unsprung disc, as I do still drive the car on the street. I've decided on a pucked clutch, but I don't know which one yet, nor have I decided 4 or 6 puck. Given the same pressure plate, a 4 puck will have more force applied to it per puck than a 6 puck, and while in theory this might provide a little more resistance to slipping than a 6 puck, a 4 puck, even a sprung one, has a harsher engagement than a 6 puck, although it is also lighter.

Also, I'm going with a Fidanza 7.5lb flywheel over my old SPEC 6.9lb, the SPEC was just too light for me, although I don't know that the extra 0.6lb will be noticeable.

At the moment I'm torn between an ACT Stage 4, Clutchmasters Stage 4, or a Bully clutch. Bully is a lesser known brand here in Canada, but I've heard great things about their products. I've been on the phone with 2 of the manufacturers so far discussing my needs, once I talk to the third I'll be able to weigh my options and make a more informed decision.

The head is done, just waiting on my Cometic head gasket to come in to them and I'll head across town to pick it up. Precise Engine in Calgary, AB does all my machine work, including the head, and they are one of the top shops in Western Canada. An old co-worker of mine owns it, and they have worked on all kinds of engines from diesel tractors, to my FS-DE. These guys put out absolutely top notch work!

 

[SCMP3]

looks great maxx

 

[sandspeed]

ACT extreme duty or clutchmasters. Duuude the block rocks . I like.

 

[Maxx Mazda]

So here's the skinny after speaking with all manufacturers:

The ACT kit is rated for about 460lb-ft, the Clutchmasters is good for 470lb-ft, and the bully is rated for almost 490lb-ft. For all intents and purposes, all three are about the same. After some intense research, each clutch has it's pros and cons.

ACT: From what I've read they have very smooth engagement, and despite their holding power, seem to be the most "streetable" of the three. Retail is $624.

CM: The FX400 holds well and lasts long, also it's the cheapest at $540. The FX400 changes the engagement point of the clutch so it's much lower in the pedal stroke, something I'm not opposed to. Some have reported chatter with other vehicles, but this may be limited to certain models.

Bully: The Bully is the most expensive at $628, and is used by a lot of top drifters. Engagement has been reported as the harshest, but the puck life is excellent.

So, there are the facts. Really, it's just a clutch, but I'm tired of burning them out one after another on hard launches. Still haven't decided which one I'll go with, im going to muddle over it another night first.

 

[NocturnalSpeed]

ACT: From what I've read they have very smooth engagement, and despite their holding power, seem to be the most "streetable" of the three.

ACT is smooth as butter. Barely need to engage the clutch and it smoothly shifts into the next gear effortlessly. This is from my experience with it over the last 6 months.

 

[Maxx Mazda]

The block as it comes stock, has an oil pressure fitting threaded with a 1/8 BSPT (British standard pipe taper) which features 28 threads per inch. Most aftermarket oil pressure sensors are threaded in 1/8 NPT (national pipe taper) which has 27 threads per inch. Not a big difference, and most of the time the two are interchangeable for the first quarter inch or so, but rather than use a BSPT to NPT adapter, I decided to tap the block itself to a 1/8NPT size. Tapping cast iron is a bit tricky, but use lots of lube and go slow and it can be done.

Showing BSP vs NPT:

Tapping out to NPT:

Some might argue this was pointless, but I like to do things right.

 

[Tzar177]

Nice

 

[Maxx Mazda]

Picked up the head today. Supertech 1mm oversized valves, dual valve springs, and titanium retainers. Valve seats re-cut, a serious port job was performed, and the head was decked and reconditioned.

Chamber:

Exhaust side:

Intake side:

 

[shane02pro5]

(boobs2)

 

[Maxx Mazda]

Took some measurements today with regards to the pistons and block. My machine shop already did this for me, just wanted to double check as best I could. Normally, you'd perform this measurement at three points down the length of the bore, but for today's purposes I just used the top as the cylinders were just honed and have no taper.

Spec sheet from CP showing the measurements we're after:

It was hard to hold this and take a pic at the same time, but as you can see the piston is bang on:

Onto the cylinders, I know it's upside-down, but again, 3.2870", bang on. All 4 pipes checked out the same.

A little off topic, but this is why I decided to wo with CP pistons this time around. My LAST 4 sets of Arias were destroyed. Each of these pistons is from a different set:

 

[Maxx Mazda]

Setup the head today and took lash measurements. The key to this process is to document everything. Excuse my messy notepad, but it works for me. Got all the parts cleaned up, and removed the shims from the buckets. Because I'm installing new cams, the position they were in previously with my old cams is irrelevant. I started by taking a baseline measurement of the actual clearance, with the cams installed, measured on the backside of the lobes with the lobes straight up, as per the FSM. Stock Mazda lash spec is 0.225mm-0.295mm. The specs provided with my Integral cams lists a cold lash spec of 0.011"-0.012". (0.28mm-0.30mm) I'm choosing to shim to the looser side of spec, of 0.30mm final valve clearance.

Parts all layed out, and shim thickness recorded based on where I installed it.

On some of the shims, the etched measurement on the backside had worn away, so I had to measure their thickness manually:

Check the hotness! Integral Stage 3 turbo cams, all lubed up and torqued down:

After all measurements were taken and documented, I can take it back apart, order my shims, and then re-install and measure it all over again. Here's my chicken scratch:

For the cams themselves, I'm very excited. The specs on these things are insane. Combined with the oversized valves, and ported head, there will be no shortage of air entering or exiting these combustion chambers. The idle will have a noticeable "lope" to it. I'm hoping the car will start with my Haltech map from when the JDM cams were installed, so I can at least get it running to re-tune.

Here's what 0.371" of intake lift looks like! If I remember correctly these cams will now make my FS an "interference" engine. This is nearly 3/8" of lift!

A pencil is used for scale:

Now a look at the exhaust side. 0.371" as well:

 

[blkspdfreak]

looks great so far. i was wondering what happened to this car...didnt see it on the forums.

 

[Maxx Mazda]

looks great so far. i was wondering what happened to this car...didnt see it on the forums.

Hasn't moved since August 2008.

 

[HKPRO5]

SUB!!!! Why haven't i seen this earlier?


EDIT. After reading through I noticed how you did the gauge setup using a fuse block and your own power block as well. Im looking to do the same thing with my new gauge setup, with the aux fan and supercharger switch. Other than that everything looks great so far. Keep up the AWESOME work.

 

[Maxx Mazda]

Well, it's been a LONG time since my last update! I was in Europe for a couple weeks getting my travel on, so I hadn't touched the car in awhile!

Made a bit of progress today, mostly small stuff. Did alot of runnign around town picking up parts, ordering stuff, etc.

Welded on an AN-10 male fitting for the return line of my external oil pressure regulator. The DocB setup, as some of you have heard of, uses a special coating inside the oil pump to increase its available pressure, even after extended hard running, and the stock (feeble) oil pressure regulator is removed. A Peterson external oil pressure regulator is run. It has a raw input from the pump that will now be putting out well over 100psi, an out to the engine, and a bypass line where all the excess pressure is released back into the MBSP to keep the oil pressure where I have it set at. Oil pressures of 50psi at hot idle are easily obtainable with this setup, and will ensure that my engine has a long and happy life, with no risk of oil starvation.

Welded bung: (It's not pretty, but it's solid and doesn't leak!)

Where the oil will be returned from the regulator:

The regulator: (on the right)

FunkyBuddha hooked me up with a 626 valve cover. Since I no longer have any wires running over the valve cover whatsoever, I can remove the standoffs, as well as the two on the front edge of the cover:

Standoffs removed. The rearward one goes right through to the inside of the cover, so it's not possible to remove it completely, but I may weld it up and smooth it out tomorrow.

I'll be using the 1.8 coil bracket. I modified it by grinding off the extra plate that's used to mound all the stock solenoids and stuff.

Picked up a Cometic head gasket while I was out today. 0.040" thickness.

 

[shane02pro5]

I'm assuming you have some kind of baffling welded in your otherwise stock looking pan?